The French satellite Gama Alpha, containing a solar sail, was successfully placed in orbit 538 kilometers away from Earth by SpaceX's Falcon 9 on January 3rd. This first mission, orchestrated by the Francilienne start-up Gama, aims to test the deployment and control of this sail, a decisive step towards the democratization of this new, non-polluting means of space propulsion.
A less expensive and non-polluting mode of propulsion
Solar sails rely solely on the sunlight for propulsion, eliminating the need for fuel. They are non-polluting and rely on photon propulsion, which is the pressure produced by photons as they bounce off a reflective surface.
Next spring, Gama Alpha, the size of a shoebox, will be rapidly launched after deploying its sail with a significantly minimized risk of debris. According to Andrew Nutter, co-founder of Gama, " in space, the Sun's radiation pressure allows for constant acceleration. The result? Missions that are 10 to 20 times less expensive ".
Gama Beta to explore deep space
The Gama Alpha mission will be followed by Gama Beta with a sail launched at twice the altitude, taking it from point A to point B. Ultimately, the Gama start-up will partner with space agencies and commercial partners to unlock access to deep space, to distant space. " To the Moon and why not to Mars or Venus ", hopes Louis de Gouyon Matignon, one of the start-up's founders.
So even if we are (very) far from being able to visit other solar systems, one thing is certain, solar sails represent a promising technological advancement in space exploration.
